NOT MISS BEAUTIFUL
Complaints drew the attention of the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) to an article headed “Miss SPCA Lé-Marie Smit 16 of Bloemfontein” on page 46 of the April 2009 edition of the magazine Marie Claire.
The NSPCA knew nothing of this competition and joins the calls that Ms Smit should not only relinquish her crown but should hang her head in shame.
The final paragraph of the article on her reads: “She is pictured above with the stuffed head of a wildebeest she shot when she was 15. Her father is a professional hunter as a family ritual for her first kill, Lé-Mari was expected to eat the wildebeest’s testicles but ended up only smearing her face with its blood.”
The blood of this animal is on her hands and ought to be on her conscience.
The NSPCA is repulsed by the picture of her standing below the animal she killed. We are disgusted that she can state she smeared her face with the blood of the animal she killed.
Her actions and attitude are in conflict with the SPCA movement’s ethos and policies. The NSPCA finds the matter offensive and the SPCA movement distances itself from this person. Her “credentials” are harmful to the good name and reputation of the SPCA movement.
At the time this statement was released, the NSPCA had contacted Marie Claire but had only been able to determine that the information came from a book entitled “Miss Beautiful.”
Our immediate aim is to determine who ran the competition and to make fervent enquiries into the use of the SPCA name and how such a person could be associated with it.
The comment that “She entered (the competition) because she really loves animals” is dismissed with contempt.
~~~~ends~~~~